Preserving cheese

[cabo_sailor]

I love to cook and like to use quality ingredients whenever possible. In the past I would buy a nice chunk of cheese such as gruyere, parmigiano reggiano, provolone, etc. I would use it in the dish I was making but the next time I went to get it out of the fridge, it would be solid green and a fair chunk of change would be wasted. One day I was watching TV, I believe it was America's Test Kitchen and they gave a suggestion. Instead of wrapping the cheese in plastic wrap the way I was they suggested first wrapping the cheese in wax paper and then plastic wrap.

I've been trying this now for several months and it works great. I used a bit of provolone this evening that had to be in the fridge for at least 2 months. It was as though I just bought it today. All my other cheeses are also lasting very well.

I still keep the cheese in the fridge so I don't know if refrigeration is really necessary. It might make an interesting experiment.

Rich

[rubyjean]

I melt parafin wax and paint the cheese, don't have the wax very hot.. Just warm enough to be brushable..Air is the enemy here..have keep it this way for a month w/o mould..Michael..

[C4 King Cobra]

I use a seal a meal for the large piece. Then cut off enough for a few days then reseal the rest.

[MacG]

Waxing is the way to go - or waxed paper. No plastic, no alufoil and no frigo. Cool place will do.

[bobconnie]

We take off what we need and seal A meal the rest till needed! have had some real good sharp chedder get lost in our fridge for at least 6 months! and when we found it, it was still fine and tasted great !! works for us, and a lot easier then melting wax like we used to do to paint the cheese and so forth !! just a thought

[delmarrey]

Submerse it in a jar of peanut oil. When you melt cheese what does it turn into?

[klubko]

We cut our cheese up (chedar, feta) into cubes and drown it in olive oil. When we need some, we sterilize a spoon in boiling water, get few cubes out and reseal the container. Lasts few months, reportedly up to a year.

[MacG]

You might do that unpunished with feta, but I rather advice not do do this with a good piece of Gouda or, Port Salut. Or you will spoil the taste. (Depends on your taste, then.)

In hot climates, cheese is difficult to keep, the same for butter (not the kind of industrial processed) I buy therefore minimal quantities, just to keep me going for a few days.

[klubko]

Originally Posted by MacG

You might do that unpunished with feta, but I rather advice not do do this with a good piece of Gouda or, Port Salut. Or you will spoil the taste. (Depends on your taste, then.)

In hot climates, cheese is difficult to keep, the same for butter (not the kind of industrial processed) I buy therefore minimal quantities, just to keep me going for a few days.

Agreed. That's I was listing the cheeses we use this technique for

[triciarob]

I found preserving Feta in olive oil with some flavourings works really well. I use chilli, peppercorns, herbs and/or garlic.

I've preserved cheddar in oil, but I used canola or sunflower 1) coz olive oil is expensive and 2) it imparts a flavour to the cheese. So, sterilize a wide mouthed jar, put your cheese - cut into chunks - into the jar and fill with oil, make sure you cover the cheese. I always use a mild cheddar as it seems to mature quite well sitting in the oil, after six months the cheese was good and flavoursome. The oil had what appeared to be a layer of liquid cheese in it and was quite strongly cheese flavoured, but I just used it on cooked pasta as in olio, aglio, pepperoncino (oil, garlic and chilli).

I have a friend who tried this with parmesan and gouda and she said it worked really well, but I imagine it wouldn't work with other cheeses.

I don't have a fridge, just a home built cool box which is great when there is a regular supply of ice, so preserving cheese like this works really well for me.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

You can also keep cheese in a covered container at room temperature on a raised trivet with vinegar under the trivet.